Sometimes, no matter who you are and what you do, you need to realize that deep down you’re just a husband and father whose job it is to take out the trash.
NASCAR driver and UCF alum Aric Almirola started reaching that realization back in 2018 after he’d just made a last-lap pass to win a huge race in Talladega and advance into the next round of playoffs.
“It was an incredible day and an awesome feeling,” recalled Almirola, a Tampa, Fla., native who will be behind the wheel of his No. 10 Ford Mustang on Sunday for what is likely his final Daytona 500. “Everything was as cool as it could possibly be. I remember a really special night with the kids and seeing the joy and excitement on their faces. So [wife] Janice and I tuck in the kids, kiss them good night and as I walked downstairs, I was like, ‘Ah, it’s Sunday night. The garbage has to go out.’
